1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to a door lock system for releasably latching and selectively locking a door, typically a door of a motor vehicle such as a passenger car, van, truck, motor coach, recreational vehicle or the like. More particularly, the present invention relates to a novel and improved, door lock system that includes a rotary latch having an elongate housing with opposed ends that are tapered so as to be securely received when "latched," within an elongate U-shaped striker assembly that has a pair of spaced, inwardly facing wedge formations at its opposed ends for guiding the latch into properly aligned engagement with the striker, and for maintaining proper alignment of the rotary latch with the striker while "latched."
2. Prior Art
In prior practice, it is customary to provide a side door of a vehicle such as an automobile, van, truck or the like with a door-carried lock system that is operable, when the door is closed adjacent a door frame that defines a passenger access opening defines a passenger access opening, to "latch" the door as by bringing rotatable components of a rotary latch into surrounding and restraining, but selectively releasable engagement with a door-frame-carried striker.
It is customary, also, to provide a side door of a vehicle with interior and exterior handle assemblies which may be operated to "unlatch" the rotary latch and to thereby permit door movement out of its closed position.
Still further, it is customary to provide a key cylinder in association with the exterior handle assembly, with the key cylinder being operable selectively to "lock" and "unlock" components of the door lock mechanism as by selectively preventing and permitting the exterior door handle assembly from unlatching the door.
Typically, the door lock mechanism of a vehicle side door also can be "locked" and "unlocked" by vertically shifting what is referred to as a "sill button." The sill button usually takes the form of an elongate, interiorly accessible, vertically movable button that has a lower end region which is connected to a control rod that is housed within the structure of a door and an upper end region that projects through a sill opening that is defined by the door structure at a location near the bottom level of a window opening that is defined by the door structure. Depressing the sill button to its lowermost or "locked" position causes the control rod to set components of the door lock mechanism to a "locked" configuration that will prevent at least the exterior handle assembly from unlatching the door. Raising the button to its uppermost or "unlocked" position causes the control rod to effect unlocking of components of the door lock system components so that operation of the exterior handle assembly will function to unlatch the door.
Moreover, it is known to provide a door lock system of a side door of a vehicle with apparatus for assuring that, when components of the door lock system are locked, the interior handle assembly (in addition to the exterior handle assembly) will be prevented from unlatching the door. This feature of fully disabling the interior handle when a sill button has been depressed (i.e., when the door lock system has been "locked") is particularly desirable for use with vehicles that transport children, the intended purpose being to prevent unwanted opening of a vehicle door as the result of a child's tampering with or operating the interior handle assembly. In the industry, such apparatus as may be provided to disable an interior door handle when a door lock system is "locked" often is referred to by the term "childproofing mechanism."
While vehicle door lock systems of a variety of configurations have been proposed, with many including so-called "childproofing mechanisms," prior proposals typically suffer from one or more drawbacks. One problem has been a lack of versatility of system components that severely limits not only the type, style, shape and/or structural configuration of doors with which a particular locking system proposal can be used but also limits the relative arrangements of interior and exterior handle assemblies, key cylinder and sill button hardware with which a particular locking system proposal can be used. Moreover, the systems of prior proposals typically require custom made operating handle assemblies and/or other custom components, it being recognized that custom components often are relatively expensive to manufacture.
To the degree that some prior door lock system proposals are adaptable for use with commercially avail able components such as operating handle assemblies, key cylinder and sill button hardware, the complexity of the resulting door lock systems, and attendant difficulties of assembly and adjustment for proper operation that are en countered in installing the resulting systems often have proven to be undesirable and, in some cases, economically unfeasible.
Accordingly, despite a proliferation of prior door lock system proposals, a need has remained for an improved, highly versatile door lock system including a well proven basic type of rotary latch, and an associated connection linkage assembly, with these components being so arranged and interconnected that they are capable of working in harmony with a wide range of commercially available interior and exterior operating handle assemblies, as well as with commercially available key cylinder and sill button hardware.
3. The Referenced "Parent Cases"
The invention of the referenced Parent Cases addresses the foregoing and other drawbacks of the prior art by providing a novel and improved vehicle door lock system that includes a rotary latch and a connection link age assembly that is sufficiently versatile to permit its use with a wide variety of commercially available interior and exterior operating handle assemblies, as well as with commercially available key cylinder and sill button control hardware, with the connecting linkage including a capability for providing desired safety features, for example, a "childproof" feature that permits an interior operating handle to be selectively enabled and disabled for unlatching the rotary latch so that children cannot open a "locked" door by tampering with or operating the interior handle.
A feature of the preferred practice of the invention of the referenced Parent Cases resides in its utilization of a well proven basic type of rotary latch--a rotary latch that has proven its acceptability in commercial use. Another feature lies in use that is made of commercially available forms of door lock system hardware including interior and exterior operating handle assemblies, as well as key cylinder and sill button components. Stated in another way, the preferred practice of the invention of the referenced Parent Cases has the very significant advantage of not proposing a door lock system that is novel and unique throughout the range of elements that make up the system--rather, the invention, in its preferred practice, draws without reservation on strengths of proven designs and commercially available components which, with minimal cost, provide a highly reliable door lock system.
Another feature of the preferred practice of the invention of the referenced Parent Cases resides in providing as a "hub" or "centerpiece" of a door lock system, a novel rotary latch and connection linkage assembly of extremely versatile character that gives the system its capability to draw upon strengths, desired characteristics, and unique features of a host of commercially available door lock operating and control hardware such as commercially available interior and exterior operating handle assemblies, key cylinder and sill button hardware. Unlike many prior proposals, a vehicle door lock system that em bodies the preferred practice of the invention of the referenced Childproof Door Lock System Case utilizes a rotary latch and connection linkage assembly that is easily adapted for use not only with a wide variety of vehicle door sizes, shapes and structural configurations, but also with a wide variety of relative arrangements of operating and control hardware, whereby commercially available hardware components can be positioned and oriented in almost any desired relative arrangement with respect to a selected position for the rotary latch and connection linkage assembly.
4. The Referenced "Plural Point Locking System Case"
The invention of the referenced Plural Point Door Locking System Case addresses a need that is not addressed by the invention of the referenced Parent Cases, namely a requirement that is encountered in certain specialized vehicle applications to provide two or more rotary latches that are mounted at spaced locations and that are arranged to be operated cooperatively, in unison, to effect latching and locking of a vehicle door or other closure.
In one aspect, the invention of the Plural Point Door Locking System Case provides a simple and inexpensive means for converting a single point rotary latch type door lock system to a plural point rotary latch type door lock system. The system can be utilized to convert a single point rotary latch system to a plural point rotary latch system regardless of whether the single latch system includes a "childproofing" mechanism; and, if the single latch system includes a childproofing feature, the child proof operational characteristics of the single latch system are extended to the rotary latches of the plural latch system.
In another aspect, the invention of the Plural Point Door Locking System Case provides an improvement or extension that can be utilized with a door lock system of the type that forms the subject matter of the referenced Parent Cases to convert the single-rotary-latch type system that forms the subject matter of the referenced Parent Cases to a plural-rotary-latch type door lock system. Where the system of the present invention is utilized in conjunction with the preferred practice of the invention of the referenced Parent Cases, the several advantageous features of the invention of the referenced Parent Cases are preserved and extended in their scope of operation to the latches of the resulting plural latch system.
In the most preferred practice of the invention of the Plural Point Locking System Case a vehicle door lock system includes interior and exterior handle assemblies that are accessible, respectively, from interior and exterior sides of a vehicle door on which the door lock system is mounted. The system includes a plurality of rotary latches that are configured to releasably engage a plurality of door-frame-mounted strikers to "latch" and "unlatch" the door, and a latch interconnection linkage for effecting concurrent unlatching of the rotary latches. The door is "locked" and "unlocked" by selectively enabling and disabling driving connections between at least one of the handle assemblies and separate release arms that are arranged to operate a selected one of the rotary latches.
In most preferred practice, locking and unlocking of the vehicle door are effected either by operating an exterior key cylinder, or by operating an interior sill button. The handle assemblies, the key cylinder and the sill button preferably are commercially available units that are arranged as may be appropriate for use with a particular vehicle door, with these units being inter connected for operation by a novel and highly versatile linkage, with elements of the linkage being operable to interact so that, (1) when the door is "latched" but not "locked," either of the handle assemblies may be operated to unlatch the door, (2) when the door is both "latched" and "locked," at least one of the handle assemblies is disabled from being operated to unlatch the door, and, (3) such locking and unlocking movements as are executed by the key cylinder will cause corresponding movements of the sill button between its locked and unlocked positions.
5. Reference Cases Summary
While the inventions of the referenced Parent Cases and the referenced Plural Point Locking System Case address the foregoing and other drawbacks of the prior art, and while latch and lock assemblies of various types are known that have at least some degree of capability for effecting and/or maintaining proper alignment of latch and striker components, the need for a highly versatile rotary latch and interengageable striker assembly that have heavy duty components designed to effect and maintain latch and striker alignment during "latching" and while "latched" is not fully addressed by prior proposals.
While the door lock systems of the referenced utility cases provide fully operable and highly acceptable solutions to the needs of many door lock applications, other applications present the challenge of door and door closure and latching movements, and/or tend to move relative to each other to an unacceptable extent while "latched," whereby the need for latch components that interact in such as way as to effect and maintain proper alignment, and that serve to prevent undesired relative movement when latched, remains to be addressed.
Because the system of the present application is applicable to the single point door latching systems such as are described in the referenced Parent Cases, to plural point door latching systems such as are described in the referenced Plural Point Locking System Case, and to other types of locking systems (as will be apparent to those skilled in the art), an application of the system of the present invention to the relatively complex environment of a plural point locking system such as is described in the referenced Plural Point Locking System Case will be described and illustrated herein; however, it will be under stood by those skilled in the art that, by eliminating linkage and latching components that extend beyond a single point latching station, the system that is described and illustrated herein can be rendered equally applicable to a single point latching system of the type that is described in the referenced Parent Cases. Likewise, other simple and straightforward modifications can be made to enable the system of the present invention to be used with other forms of locking systems, as will be apparent to those skilled in the art.
6. The Referenced "Companion Design Case"
The referenced concurrently filed Companion Design Case deals with the attractive, ornamental appearance of latch housing and striker assembly components of a type that preferably are employed in carrying out the best mode known to the inventors for practicing the present invention. Accordingly, in the drawings and in the detailed description that form a part of the present application, components that employ the features which are illustrated in the referenced Companion Design Case are shown and described. It will be understood, however, that the invention of the present application can be practiced without utilizing the attractive appearance features that form the subject of the referenced Companion Design Case